[RunDownHouse]

I just got back from the bank. I stood in line for a teller and when it was my turn told her that I had found "over $500" on the ground, turned it in, and was here because it was still unclaimed. She gasped and said she hadn't heard about that, and that I should wait for the manager. She then added that it was incredibly honest. I knew I'd have to wait for the manager, but figured that the more people at the bank knew about the situation, the better off I'd be at this point. Each teller should be a sort of check to keep the others honest. Or so I figured.

So I talk to the manager and he recognizes my name right away. He says that it is still unclaimed, that he sent an email to his boss on Friday afternoon detailing the situation, and that he recommended I keep the money. I was incredibly relieved when he said that. He said he didn't hear back from his boss yet, but that on Monday he'd go ahead and just credit my account with the money. He added that nobody had made any sort of transaction that day that could be correlated with that amount of money, and asked me exactly how I found it. He did this in mostly a curious sort of way, and when I told him he said that it was very bizarre that someone could just drop a wad of cash like that. I agreed.

So it looks like I am going to get to keep the money. I'm definitely encouraged by the lack of duplicity on the part of the bank employees, but I also will definitely not ever turn money in again. Just leaving my name and number with the bank is a much, much better route.